Battle of Valtia
The Battle of Valtia (CC 430) was a surprise preemptive attack in PLanet Valtia as part of Beast Queen E-34's strategy to incapacitate planning centers and staging points for the Arin Recovery Campaign. Previously, such a level of military planning and operation was deemed impossible for Beasts to enact as it would necessitate human-like cognitive abilities. Despite the loss of their capital, humanity comprehended E-34 as a very aggressive Queen that simply managed to succeed in eroding Arin. It was still unknown to them that E-34 was fundamentally different from all the Beast Queens that humans ever faced before. Aside from Valtia, the other New Alliance staging points for the Arin Recovery Campaign in Naricapha, Dalita, and Puyan were also attacked and similarly devastated. The entirety of the battle was covered by Main Episode-0 Pray (Part 14) Ch.16 - (Part 21) Ch.23. Background Due to the power struggle between the AE and Knight Order, the AE Government prioritized consolidating its political power instead of preparing for a counter-attack against E-34's invasion. AE saw the fall of Arin not as a threat but rather an opportunity to strengthen its rule. However, this inaction on the pressing issue was widely seen as hesitation instead which cost AE public confidence. Master Knight Dry Leonhard, Deputy Chief of Eastern Order, was in Valtia due to having attended the retirement party of fellow Master Knight Anne Mayer earlier. As information on Arin slowly trickled in, Dry made a public announcement rallying humanity's forces which immediately gained popular support. This in turn enabled him to take leadership of most of humanity's effective fighting forces as they pledged support and compliance under Dry's command for the realization of a large-scale counter-offensive that would liberate Arin. The Knight Order branches, who were in disarray with the loss of Central Order HQ, all followed Dry, while AE was largely strong-armed by sympathetic/frustrated internal factions, and by Dry himself, to concede. A unified command between Knights and AE was then established under the New Alliance structure which will take on the Arin Recovery Campaign. The core planet Valtia then became the impromptu main planning headquarters of New Alliance although other staging points in Naricapha, Dalita, and Puyan were also organized. It was envisioned that a response force would first rally from these planets before converging in Arin. The AUA, Arin's self-defense force, was dispersed throughout the frontiers as expeditionary troops contributing auxiliaries to the main AE force. As such, there remained a sizable Arin military force despite the loss of their planet. The AUA deemed the political and logistical preparations of New Alliance to be too slow for it to be an effective response. They then regrouped in Valtia under the morale leadership of AUA Colonel Anne Mayer to initiate their own relief mission. Sensing a splinter group from within, New Alliance Supreme Commander Dry Leonhard issued orders to disarm and arrest AUA personnel. Col. Anne and Lt. Col. Dyne were apprehended by Master Knights Bernet and Dan. While being apprehended, Anne told Dan to look behind him. Dan replied that he would not fall for such a cheap trick but noticed the collective shocked faces of Anne, Bernet, and Dyne. He then relented looking behind and saw a massive Manaan Mothership entering Valtia's atmosphere amidst a backdrop of falling debris from destroyed human ships. The Beasts have launched a surprise preemptive attack - the Battle of Valtia had already started. Battle A week before, E-34 had already finished isolating Planet Arin which she managed to invade covertly. To enable her to erode the planet completely and to finish preparations for her grand campaign to end mankind, E-34 needed to delay any counter-attack initiatives. She had already hacked into the Central Order system which divulged all data including critical centers and military bases - she was also possibly updated of progresses in the Arin Recovery Campaign as humans have not yet realized her hacking. Using these information, E-34 formulated a complex strategy of launching simultaneous surprise preemptive attacks on core worlds which can support dense concentrations of troops and fleets. She had her brood disguised as fleeing survivors using Arin/Knights IFF codes. Her Beasts then reached their targets from human warp gates. Thinking that the warps were emergency travel, the AE Gate Administration approved the pending warp requests and a torrent of Beasts immediately swarmed in to their horror. After emerging from their warp, the Beasts first attacked the Orbital Military Station, "Saint Line". Saint Line was designated as the lead fleet's rallying station for the Valtia stage point of the Arin Recovery Campaign. The numerous space warships parked at Saint Line were quickly destroyed as most were not in full operational status as of that instance. The New Alliance forces on the ground were then greeted by a shower of meteorites coming from the debris of their own warships and the shattered station. A Manaan Mothership entered Valtia's atmosphere and began deploying Beasts on the surface. Five surface bases were immediately overran. Counter-Attack While the New Alliance scrambled to regain their shattered formations, the Valtia Public Safety Force prepared the initial defense of the planet. Bernet and Dan escorted Anne to a secure military camp before heading off to join the battle. Before they left, Anne was instructed to remain within the camp and not cause any trouble. Since she refused to simply stand around, Anne then used her influence, personal connections, and positions as AUA Colonel and AE Military Adviser to martial in reinforcements from non-New Alliance forces and other neutral entities nearby. She then acted as a liaison in coordinating the disconnected troops with New Alliance command - a move that Dry welcomed with great thanks. Anne predicted that the Beasts would attempt to storm into Eden Fortress which housed the planetary shield generator and was the interim headquarters of the New Alliance. True to her prediction, the Manaan was slowly approaching Eden Fortress. Supreme Commander Dry Leonhard ordered Eden to activate the planetary shielding over Valtia and to prematurely launch the Knights Flagship Zeppelin despite not achieving maximum efficiency yet. Zeppelin was then used to physically push the Manaan away to the upper atmosphere. A team of veteran Master Knights including Daniel Leonhard and Feizer took the opportunity to board the Manaan using the Zeppelin as a ladder/bridge. Feizer's AB Sword Number 9. Thousand Spikes pierced through the armor of the Beast ship, ravaging its engine. It was then presumed to have been deactivated already. A group of high rank beasts confronted them on the Manaan but the Master Knights successfully slayed the beasts with only three casualties. Meanwhile on the surface, the Knights easily overturned the attack since they had already gathered at Valtia in anticipation of the Arin Recovery Campaign. AE forces had already recovered from their confusion and began mobilizing reserve forces. Communication with the other New Alliance staging points confirmed that they are also experiencing a surprise attack from the warp gate. Although the initial destruction was substantial, further losses were minimized by the quick response of Knights and AE forces. It seemed as if the immediate threat had already been suppressed, and New Alliance assessed the situation as under control. Fear and Morglay As the Master Knights inspected the Manaan, a compartment opened up revealing EX-Type Zero Fear. She walked calmly to the center of the team before materializing Blue Spear, a large double-bladed long sword. Fear slaughtered the veteran Master Knights on-board although Daniel and Feizer were able to escape the onslaught. The Manaan opened up another hatch to unload four Phenomenon Weapon Morglays looted from Central Order. Fear then used one of them to pierce through and destroy Eden Fortress. The reverberating shock wave upon impact, coupled with Morglay's own closed space, caused further destruction in the surrounding areas. Morglay continued penetrating straight through the crust, reaching into the mantle, and pinning the mantle in place. Morglay's closed space damaged Valtia's planetary core triggering sudden polar shift and hostile Level 5 climate change. Fear then sought out Anne. A special subjugation force was quickly deployed consisting of eight Zero Breakers (Daniel Leonhard, Jenny, Doi, Kiri, Dry Leonhard, Dan, Leo, and Bernet), three Type-D Titan-class Battlecruisers (Dalton, Minerva, and Canaan), 150 Cross Society Crusaders, five Sowat-class Anti-Type Zero Frigates, and several squads of AE Special Task Force Troopers equipped with Graviton Beam Emitters. Dry then threw himself from Zeppelin to intercept Fear who was locked in a stare-down with Anne. The twins Ron and Rune helped Dry to land using their teleportation abilities. Sensing that the EX-Type Zero have some sort of interest in Anne, Dry instructed the twins to hide Anne in a shelter 2km away. Dry then single-handedly engaged Fear in a highly destructive one-on-one combat that leveled their surroundings. Despite seemingly losing from the fight, Dry bought enough time for the subjugation force to take tactical formations surrounding Fear. Acknowledging that she had already been cornered, Fear attempted to disengage but the Knights began attacking with Leo commanding the front and Daniel at the rear. Each time Fear tried to go outside the combat zone, the AE forces and warships blocked her. Fear then launched another Morglay, this time as a huge sword to slice down the structures around her, clearing the positions of the subjugation force. Dry reproached Fear, commenting that Morglay would do no harm to them as it is an anti-fortress/anti-planet weapon not anti-personnel. Still, the Morglay gave Fear brief respite from the subjugation force while they reorganized their lines. Beasts Retreat Suddenly, out of the blue, the Titan-class Dalton and Minerva were suddenly destroyed by piercing particle beams. E-34's other EX-Type Zero, Blue Beetle, had warped in the combat zone all the way from Arin using a Level 5 Bio-Gate. The other EX-Type Zero entered the fray escorted by Type 5 Attendant-Guards. The Sowat-class Frigates concentrated their particle beams on Blue Beetle and the Type 5s but he created an impenetrable Volcanic Echo Shield, also assimilated from Central Order R&D, to negate the attacks. The Cross Society Crusaders and the AE Special Task Force Troopers launched an all out interception to prevent the two EX-Type Zeroes from reaching each other but they failed. Fear was now supported by Blue Beetle as the two retreated using the damaged Manaan Mothership. The Manaan warped within the atmosphere of Valtia which caused shock wave damages to the surrounding area. Titan-class Canaan maximized its shield to block the effects of the shock waves to the remaining troops on the ground. With the withdrawal of the EX-Type Zeroes, the Battle of Valtia is a tactical victory for the New Alliance but a strategic loss for humanity. Aftermath The substantial loss of Knights, troops, warships, and materiel just from the initial attack already proved to be a devastating blow to New Alliance's morale and effective fighting strength. Still, it would have merely delayed the Arin Recovery Campaign but not actually cripple the plan since New Alliance's reserves can still be mustered from other human worlds or recovered through the core planets' highly developed industries. Unfortunately, the Morglay attacks proved to be the real incapacitating blow that indefinitely suspended New Alliance's initiative. Four core planets had to be declared condemned due to the drastic changes induced by the Phenomenon Weapon that made them irreversibly inhabitable to humans thereafter. The civilian casualties and collateral damage to property was simply staggering. The abandonment of the planets proved difficult as there was a lack of transportation to properly emigrate the entire population of four core planets. The economic costs and loss of prime industrial centers were such a huge blow to human's war machine and general capability that even after the War of Prayer in CC 432, humans are still struggling to cope from the damages. Politically, New Alliance was forced to switch its priority from the Arin Recovery Campaign to damage control despite the fact that it was not formed to be a humanitarian aid group, and therefore lacked the functions to do so. It also shattered the confidence that the strength of the unified force of Knights and AE military can defeat E-34. AE Government particularly challenged New Alliance on its competence and Dry Leonhard's role as Supreme Commander shifted from a military function to a more political one - managing instead cohesiveness in the New Alliance while responding to AE Government's pressure. Presumably, the highly energetic AE member states and factions that have committed to New Alliance at the beginning began wavering in their stance. AUA departs Valtia to escape]] To further complicate matters, the AUA forces renewed their initiative to form a relief force separate from New Alliance. Anne Mayer, serving as AUA's morale leader, was already decided in her choice to go to Arin as soon as possible. Knowing full well of these matters, Dry had Anne Mayer in maximum security confinement somewhere in Valtia, officially for her protection. Anne was an influential and well-connected figure who can attract factions and other elements to join her cause instead of New Alliance. As such, Dry deemed it necessary for political reasons to have Anne under New Alliance custody to avoid the formation of a competing coalition structure that would endanger his grand unification plan. AUA sought assistance from retired Master Knight Milo and Cross Society Bishop Leo to launch a rescue mission. They also haggled with PPP Lead Scientist Dr. Thor to purchase A-10 as a personal escort for Anne Mayer. AUA then launched their operation with numerous raids acting as distractions. Anne, who was given prior details through Milo, was able to defeat the five Master Knights and sixteen regular Knights guarding her. A-10 then assisted her by clearing the other responding New Alliance and Valtia security forces. While repelling the organized AE main force, AUA regrouped and commandeered the Alcyone which was confiscated from them by New Alliance to specifically deter plans for any unauthorized departure. Upon leaving Valtia's atmosphere, the Alcyone was intercepted and blocked by a New Alliance fleet led by Flagship Gardens of Babylon. Supreme Commander Dry issued stand down orders for both sides so as to avoid further casualties. Upon considering the damage already done by the escape attempt and the stubbornness of AUA/Anne, Dry offered to acknowledge the AUA Relief Force as a legitimate advance party to scout the current status of Arin and prepare the arrival of the "main" New Alliance force. This allowed Dry to save face and prevent the crumbling facade of New Alliance. Gallery Quotes :(Before charging to the group of Beasts on the Manaan) :Daniel Leonhard: "Glory to the Knights...and Blades of Death to the AGS!" :(Upon the retreat of Fear and Blue Beetle) :Daniel Leonhard: "...Dry" :Dry Leonhard: "Don't say a word...I know. We lost." Category:Event Records Category:Human-Beast conflict